Fire-escape



(No Model.) '2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

r J. P. NEWTON, Jr.

FIRE ESCAPE M Z fl m Wy w @w u m 3 AM w w W m N. PETERS. Pmwumn n mr. Washington, D, C.

2 t e mu h S S t e e h s 2 .L U N 0. m E N h J M d o M 0 W FIRE, ESCAPE.

Patented Jan. 10, 1882.

7. 4 w Qhhiiiiii y a N. PETERS. FhnIo-Lithognpher. Wishinglan, A.

UNITED STATES PAT NT OFFICE.

JOHN'F. NEWTON, JR, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

srnorrrca'rroivrormm part of Letters Patent No. 252,130, dated January 10, 1882.

Application filed June 24,1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. NEWTON, J r., of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to thattclass of fireescapes composed of a rope suspended from an elevated point on a building and a device engaged with and adapted to slide on the rope and furnish a support for a person 'descendin g the rope, the descent of said device being retarded by its friction on the rope.

My invention has for its object to provide certain improvements in-a fire-escapeof this class, whereby it is made safer, more durable,

reliable, and convenient, and is adapted to be quickly regulated by the person descending, so that the friction and resistance will be proportioned to the weight of the person.

The invention also has for its object to provide improved means for supporting the rope ota fire-escape of this class from the wall of a building.

To these ends my invention consistsin the improvemeutswhich I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a fire-escape embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents aside view of the crane or device that supports the rope. Fig. 3 represents a top view of the same. Fig. 4 represents a side elevation, showing manner of suspending the seat. Fig. 5 represents a side elevation with a portion ofthe casing removed. Fig. 6 represents a section on line 00 a, Fig. 5. Fig. 7 represents a section on line as m, Fig. 5. Fig.8 represents a section on line yy, Fig. 5. Fig. 9 represents a section on line 22, Fig. 5. Fig. 10 represents a section on line zz,Fig.6.

The same letters refer to the same parts in all the figures. i

In the drawings, a represents a rope adapted to be supported at an elevated pointon a building and extend to the ground.- I preferably employ as a support for the rope a swinging crane, b, composed of a stout iron bar provided at its outer end with a hook to engage the rope,

and bent downwardly at its inner end to enter bearings formed in lugs c 0 on a plate, 0?, said plate being securely bolted to the wall.

f represents a box or casing adapted to slide on the rope and form a support for a seat, 9, which is suspended from the box in the manner hereinafter described, and so arranged that when a person is sitting thereon the boxf will be atthe level of the sitters chest, or thereabout. .The box f is provided with devices for maintaining any desired amount of friction on the rope while sliding thereon, so that the rate of its sliding movement may be regulated and the friction adjusted to the weight of the person on the seat.

The devices employed to maintain and regulate the friction on the rope are in the present pressed away from said pulleys by a spring, 8,

(see Fig. 8,) and adapted to be pressed upon the pulleys with any desired degree of pressure by a screw, h, passing through the side of the casin g and provided with a suitable handle on its outer end, said screw bearing upon a projection, 01/, on the brake, which projection is adapted to move in a guide, Z. The bearing- -surface of the brake j is preferably covered with rubber or other comparatively yielding material 0. p

The second part consists of a pair of rollers, m m, located at-the lower end of the box and adapted to bear on .oppositesides of the rope a. The roller m is located in fixed bearings and the roller m in bearings formed on a movable slide orbar, 12, adapted to move toward or from the roller m in a guide, 0. A screw, 11/, bears on" the bar a, and is adapted to force the roller m toward the. roller rm, and thus compress the rope to any desired extent, The screw h and the screw 71., bearing upon the brake j, previously described, are in conven= ient positionto be operated by a person on the seat g.

The third part consists of band-brakes to support the seat 9 and adapted to bear upon the pulleys ii, said brakes being composed of the straps p p, attached to and supporting the seat 9 and passingthrough slots 8 8 formed in the bottom of the casing f, and over the upper pulley, i, as shown in Fig. 6. Each strap is provided with a girth or band, I), encircling thelower pulley, i, and formed of leather, similar to the straps p p, one extremity of each girth being securely attached to its strap, as shown at I, Fig. 6, and the other extremity of each girth firmly attached to hooks q, projecting from the side of the boxf, as shown in Figs. 6 and 10. It will be seen that the weight of a person upon the seat 9 will cause the straps p p and their girths to act as band-brakes upon the pulleys i i. It will be obvious that the amount of friction exerted upon the pulleys by the band-brakes will be exactly proportioned to the weight of the person upon the seat 9 and to the widthof the straps composing said band-brakes, or, in other words, with straps of a given width will be greater or less according to' the variation in weight ofv different occupants.

I prefer to limit the width of the straps to about one inch; and in order to avoid increasing said width beyond this limit and to adapt the fire-escape for use by very heavy persons, I provide, fourthly, automatic clamping mechanism, the same consisting of a metallic lever or bar, d, having a downwardly-bent arm, a, at one extremity and an upwardly-bent arm, a,

' at the opposite extremity, said arms being pivoted to the casing f. The bar d has a groove, (i formed in one side, to admit the rope or, which passes between said bar at and the roller m. The opposite end of the bar cl is connected with the seat-supporting strap p by means of a strap, p attached to a link or eye, a pivoted between two upwardly-projectin g ears on the bar 1.

In operation the weight of the occupant of the seat g draws the strap p downwardly, thus causing the bar d to tip or partially rotate upon its pivots, so as to clamp the rope to between said bar and the roller m. When the seat is relieved from weight the bar d is returned to its normal position by the action of a spring, 8, attached to the casing f, and the link a thus relieving the rope (6 from pressure.

It may not be necessary in all cases to use all four of the above-described devices. A person of light weight might be able to descend by the use of the brakejalone; and, if desired, the use of the band-brakes pp and the automatic clamping mechanism may be entirely dispensed with, the seat 9 in that case being supported by straps,- chains, or cords p suitably attached to the lowei'part of the box f. The tension of the straps pp and the straps p may be relatively adjusted and the weight of the occupant of the seat thrown on either setofstraps at will by means of suitablebuckles, with which the straps may be connected.

It will be apparent that by the use of these four devices the friction on the rope and the movement of the box and its pendent seat may be regulated to any desired extent by a person on the seat.

The pulleys e t" have grooves r r to receive the turns or convolutions of the rope to, and these grooves in one pulley alternate with those in the other, as shown in Fig. 5, the object of this arrangement of the grooves being to keep the turns or convolutions of the rope separate from each other and to prevent them from rubbing and chafing. Each pulley has also a deeper groove, 1", the purpose of these grooves being to guide the rope as it passes onto the pulley i and off from the pulley t", and prevent the rope from passing at too abrupt an inclination from the pulley t" to the rollers m m and from the pulley '2 to the orifice in the top of theboxf. This deep groove on each 7 pulley also tends to prevent the rope a from slipping off said pulleys. t i represent metal guards attached'to the casingf to prevent the straps p b from slipping off the pulleys.

The operation of my invention as a whole is as follows: A person preparing to descend from an elevated point will first tighten the screws h h as much as possible. This will make the box f immovable on the rope. The person then seats himself on the seat 9 and loosens the screws, thus allowing the box to descend, the rate of descent being automatically regulated bythe band-brakes pp and the clamping'bar d, said rate being exactly proportioned to the weight of the occupant of the seat. If the occupant' desires to still further retard the rate of speed or'to stop the descent of the box entirely-as, for instance, to avoid a shock in approaching the ground-it may readily be done by means of the screws h h, which are within easy reach of the occupant of the seat. When the box f has been lowered, it iti desired to raise itagain, a person on the ground may hoist it upon the rope a by means of a cord, a, passing over pulleys o v, suspended from the crane b and attached to the box f, the screws h h being loosened so as not to retard the upward movement ofthe box, and the band-brakes and automatic clamping mechanism being inoperative while the seatis unoccupied. The box f is of such size that it may readily be passed through a window and kept within an apartment ready for use.

70 7c represent handles .for convenience in moving the box, and also to aid the person getting upon the seat. The swinging crane b enables the person to get upon the seat in preparing to descend while said seat is close to the wall of the building, and then by pushing against the wall swing the crane outwardly, and so push the seat from the wall.

The seat 9 is preferably upholstered.

Having thus described my invention, what secure by Letters Patsurfaces, a brake adapted to press simultaneously upon said bearing-surfaces to retard the movement of said pulleys, and an adjustingscrew to regulate the pressure of the brake.

' 2. In a fire-escape, the combination ofa box or frame having openings in its opposite ends for the passage of a rope, a pair of pulleys, & i, journaled in said box, a brake provided with an adj usting-serew to retard the movement of said pulleys, and the pair of clampingrollers located at the lower end of the box and having an adjusting-screw, as set forth.

3. In a fire-escape, the combination of the box or frame having the pulleys t i, the seat 9, and the supporting-straps adapted to act as band-brakes on the pulleys z t", substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a fire-escape, the combination of the boxor frame having the pulleys i 2', adapted to receive upon their peripheries a rope, a, passing through said box, the seat-supporting straps adapted to act as band-brakes on said pulleys, and the pivoted lever or bar (1, connected with the seat-supporting straps, and adapted to press the rope to against a roller and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a fire-escape, the combination of the box or frame having the pulleys t 1', adapted to receive upon their peripheries a rope, a, passing through said box, a screw-adjusted 1 brake adapted to bear upon portions of the peripheries of said pulleys, the seat-supporting band-brakes adapted to bear upon other portions of the pulleys, and the pivoted lever or .bar 01, connected with the band-brakes and Witnesses H. G. WADLIN, O. F. BROWN.

journaled in fixed bearings, substantially as JOHN F. NEWTON, JR. 

